Dec. 31 deadline for RAMI nominations

The Rockford Area Music Industry (RAMI) is accepting nominations for musicians/groups, technicians, recordings, Lifetime Achievement and Community Service awards.

Nomination forms are available online at www.ramiawards.com for download or online submission. Nominations are being accepted through Dec. 31.

Eligibility requirements for musican/group nomination

1. Nominees are not required to be members of the RAMI Musicians’ Organization. Anyone can place a name in nomination. However, nomination forms that do not contain all required information and materials will not be considered. A valid nomination form does not guarantee a place on the ballot. The eligibility period for each year’s awards is the preceding calendar year. For example, the April 2012 21st Awards Ceremony will honor the efforts for the eligibility year Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2011.

2. The artist must have worked a minimum of eight public performances during the eligibility period within a 50-mile radius of the center of Rockford (intersection of State Street and Main Street).

3. To be eligible, all artists, technicians and recording studios must legally reside within the 50-mile radius (same as above) or, in the case of performance groups, have half or more of its members meeting the residency requirement

4. All prospective nominees must submit at least one song in digital format (CD, DVD or MP3) for consideration. Performers who are eventually nominated will have this song linked to their name on the ballot. All songs submitted must include song-writing credit for its author(s).

5. To be considered for an originals category, the artist’s live performances must contain at least 50 percent original material. Recordings must contain at least 75 percent original content.

6. Requests by artists to have their names removed from the ballot will be honored.

The nomination Rules and Regulations and a full list of categories are available at www.ramiawards.com.